Need help with almost 9 weeks akita

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Member Since
10/30/2012

Barked: Tue Oct 30, '12 12:33pm PST


	Hi,Our family of three persons just bought the lovely Akita,her name is Kaida(little dragon).We took her home Friday and she was upset two days,but as i read it's normal to be like that.My son is 18 months and they really like each other.Now she start feel good playing alot.She likes her own bed and toys,but now i have a little confuse about her peeing.On Monday we start to take her to the garden very often and she's alright doing all these things,but inside she'd peeing like every 2 minutes it's normal??Just don't know that to think,it's really strange.Other questions i have about the food,now i giving her the food that breader provide,but maybe somebody can suggest some really good food?At the moment what food is the best for puppy?Can i give her a treat?And what about the vitamins?The breader told me wait for now because she's getting all the vitamins with the food,but in the pet shop they are saying,that i need to give it straight now??I'll be very happy if somebody can help me with these questions,because we just want to have all the best for Kaida. Thank You sooo much.

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MIKA&KAI

Akita Pals- Always.

Barked: Wed Oct 31, '12 5:21am PST


	Congratulations on your new puppy. Has your puppy been to the vet? If she hasn't she really should go to rule out any health problems and get her vaccines started to protect her from getting some really bad illnesses,the vet can also check to make sure she doesn't have a problem that is causing her to pee more. Now,with that taken care of,puppies do pee alot. She will need to go outside about once an hour just to use a potty spot.She should stay outside being walked around until she goes,praised or given a treat,then taken inside.It takes some time but she will learn quickly. When she is in the house,she should either be restricted to a crate or a room that is easy to clean-up when/if she has an accident,do not punish her for accidents,simply take her outside to finish.She can also be tethered to you,just put her leash through a belt loop on your pants or around your waist using the handle,with her being right with you like that you will learn more quickly when she needs to go,and be able to take her,and she will also not be able to get into things she shouldn't. A good food for Akitas is any soy-free,grain-free food designed for large breed puppies. I use Blue Buffalo Wilderness but not all puppies do well on it and it is not available everywhere. Treats are fine but are just that,treats. They are for occasional use only. You can also start your puppy on a vitamin if you wish,I always do a multiple vitamin,vitamin E,fish oil,and Glucosamine to help brain development and keep joints healthy. I hope this helps. If you have any other questions I will try to help if I can. Also,please always supervise your puppy and your baby. Akitas are generally wonderful with children but can get quite large quickly and by sheer size my hurt your little one without meaning to,so please do not let the child and the puppy alone in a room without an adult to watch them.

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Lobo

"Stubborn" dogs- don't need- corrections

Barked: Fri Nov 2, '12 1:17am PST


	Ohhh, congrats on your puppy! I'm hoping to get mine soon. (: M&K gave some really awesome advice! As far as meals, Lobo is fed the prey model raw diet, but it is something that I recommend you research, not something to just jump into. If it's not for you, there is a really good website, Dog Food Analysis, that you can look up for reviews on dog food. As a general rule, it's a good idea to pick any food that's four stars or above. For training, you need to be careful. Although online there's a lot that says Akitas are dominant, you should know that dominance isn't a personality trait. Using dominance methods on an Akita is more likely to get you bit than to get a dog to obey. In fact, punishment-based methods in general are definitely not a good way to train an Akita. In my experience and in my speaking with other Akita owners, positive reinforcement is definitely the way to go. My own dog is clicker trained, and I believe M&K also uses a form of marker training(I know she's told me, I just have a really bad memory, lolol).

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Kodiak CGC

WOOoooOOoo

Barked: Fri Nov 2, '12 8:11am PST


	Please don't feed your large breed puppy a 'puppy' food. That is asking for growth issues and a shortened lifespan. Puppy formulas are designed to increase growth rate. A large breed dog doesn't need to grow fast, she needs to grow slow and strong. Your dog will reach her full size potential eventually, and an All Life Stages diet will let her get their at her own pace. Be very careful if you do give vitamins. Too much is just as bad or worse than too little. Good things to give are natural supplements like fish oil (1-2 pills every other day or so are fine, especially if you get the kind that also has Vit E. Too much fish oil can actually cause a Vit. E. deficiency if it's not supplemented) and raw items like livers and hearts that are very nutrient dense. I went crazy trying to find the PERFECT diet for my akita when he was a pup, haha. A good all life stages food (Taste of the Wild is what my guys were raised on) and some healthy snacks and she should do just fine. As for the frequent peeing, try to remember that she's still a teensy puppy with a teensy bladder. Do vet her and make sure she doesn't have a UTI or such, but barring that.. puppies pee a LOT. Congrats on your pup!

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Member Since
10/30/2012

Barked: Sat Nov 3, '12 5:46am PST


	Hi,Big Thank you for all your help.Kaida feeling great now,she's playful,start do all the things outside,but we still have the accidents,but we working on it.Breeders provide her for food the name is best pets,and i think it is not the best one,because she not eating a lot and now i just need to change the food really fast,i was reading about blue buffalo,but maybe you can tell me where in the Uk buy it?And do i really need to fee her adults food not the puppy?Can u please help me and tell me what food is the best for her???She had one injection and check up,now we are waiting second one.Thanks for all your help it's really helpful.)

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MIKA&KAI

Akita Pals- Always.

Barked: Sat Nov 3, '12 6:06am PST


	Being in the U.K and not the U.S. Blue Buffalo may not be available. That is why I suggested that any SOY-FREE,GRAIN-FREE food available would be fine. You will unfortunately have to read some labels to find that in your area,or ask someone at the pet store which brands you have that are GRAIN and SOY free. Aside from having her first set of vaccines please ask your vet to test her for a Urinary tract infection. You certainly can use an all life stages food and until large breed puppy food was introduced that was the best option. Now you have the added choice of doing either but if you use the "all life stages" make sure that you suppliment what is missing from the large breed puppy food. The fish oil,vitamin E,and Glucosamine are all good things to start from the beginning. We are glad that you were able to find some helpful information here. on the potty training and just try to be patient. They do catch on quickly but it can take until they are between 4-6 months before they have it down perfectly. We wish you and Kaida a very long,happy,healthy life together.

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Kodiak CGC

WOOoooOOoo

Barked: Sat Nov 3, '12 8:36am PST


	A dog food labeled "All Life Stages" or "large breed puppy" are both good. Just not regular puppy food. Avoid soy and grains, like M&K said. Check your ingredients list on the side of the bag and make sure the first several ingredients are specific food items you know and that are good for dogs (ie: No 'animal digest' no corn, no 'meat by products'. You want things like 'Chicken' plain and simple.) You just have to go by the puppy's health to know if you're doing the right thing with her food. You do as much research as you can, and then she'll tell you over time if it's working for her. If she's doing good on it, it's the right food for her. Also, I wouldn't immediately assume that just because she's not gobbling it up it's bad. If she's a healthy weight, she might not need any more than she's eating now.

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MIKA&KAI

Akita Pals- Always.

Barked: Sat Nov 3, '12 1:04pm PST


	I also forgot to mention that in general Akitas do tend to eat less than other breeds their size and unlike many breeds can be trusted in most cases to only eat what they need. Due to some nasty weather here my dogs by their choice have been spending less time outside and although I put down their food for them to eat when they like,they are only eating about half what they normally do because they are less active. A good guideline for if you pup is eating enough is a weight gain of about 10 pounds per month,a little more or a little less is okay. For example my Mika is on the small side of the height/weight scale for an Akita and gained about 8 pounds a month,Kai on the other hand is on the large side for a male and gained about 12 pounds a month. I hope that helps a little in seeing where your puppy is on that scale. As Kodiak's person said,just because they aren't gobbling the food,doesn't mean it isn't good but the brand you mentioned earlier I have heard of and would recommend switching to something a bit better in quality. Again,good luck.

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Lobo

"Stubborn" dogs- don't need- corrections

Barked: Sat Nov 3, '12 5:28pm PST


	Yeah, M&K and Kodiak gave really good food advise. I don't really know a whole lot about kibble, so I apologize. Also, I know that in Aus., there's a limited amount of high quality kibble. I don't know if the UK is like that or not, but if so, just pick the one with the best ingredients that you can afford. You can't really help it if "the best" isn't in your area, y'know? Otherwise, I can't really add much in the way of kibble. But the others who responded gave really good advise. (: